Enhancing Personal Efficiency

[BicycleB]

@TomTX, what a simple rule! Yet so amazingly accurate. Thanks for posting.

[TomTX]

@TomTX, what a simple rule! Yet so amazingly accurate. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the comment. I came up with that on the fly - simpler is better at getting the idea across.

[Solomon960]

nereo: We'll just have to agree to disagree. MOST of the radiation, toxins, and pollution we are exposed to daily are out of our control, hence why it is not a primary concern for me to adopt more "natural" yet expensive products in my everyday activities. While such products may cost "just $1-$2 [more] each year" - technically, the true figure is significantly higher - based on my investment history, I generally turn one dollar into four at year-end. Like I've said before, I won't live forever, but I am ever cognizant of utilizing the time I am given wisely - if I can improve my personal wellness in the process, that is a bonus, not a requirement.

I wear boots 14+ hrs/day; they sit in a 80°F/50% humidity room thereafter (known as my bedroom). The boots/socks don't stink in the morning, only when removed - perhaps confirming their poor ventilation design. Among your recommendations, the simplest solution would be to leave the boots in the garage at night to dry out, whereby removing one odor from my room (a benefit). I will employ this plan tonight - perhaps the faster drying will minimize the odor detected during takeoff tomorrow? Thank you for the suggestions.

At one time, I shared a condo that had a pool - I would swim once a week. Now, having moved thousands of miles away, there simply is no time- or cost-effective opportunity to add recreational activities to my long days. My work facility includes a staff locker room with shower, but the heat index remains triple-digits at 7:00 pm causing me to sweat afterwards during my commute home. If I didn't have such a long commute, staying late to shower here would be very convenient.

I searched but could not find product quality threads - perhaps others' language and intent does not compute with mine? I will say, however, that identifying and sharing cheap everyday products in this community allows fellow Mustachians to investigate, purchase, and employ them in their own lives, hence arriving at the sole intent of this thread: Enhancing Personal Efficiency. If a fellow Mustachian believes (s)he has a better way of doing something OR believes a product will perform better than what another uses, THIS this the thread for such sharing!


slappy: I take 8 minutes to shower because I'm old! If I really wanted to, I could cut it down to 4 minutes, but working as long as I do, sitting in the sun during my commute, and living in a warm house, I'm just dead beat that "going fast" isn't on my mind when I'm in the shower at 8:00 pm. I am slightly germophobic - the idea of going to bed without applying soap doesn't seem hygienic. Of course, as soon as soap is rinsed aware, the bacteria, mold, and viruses regrow immediately...but it sure feels good believing that they were killed so shortly before I climbed into bed.


Dicey: Since I will never truly retire, I'm either saving for (1) my personal nursing home and long-term care costs as I age and/or (2) the benefit of my beneficiary(ies). If we could go more than a decade between recessions (or extended periods of global economic decline), I could theoretically join the Peace Corps in my 60's. i do not know how to not be productive - we can always improve who we are and how we perform.


My landlord has warned me that a rent increase is to be expected next summer. Guess I'll be able to work on my daily 30-mi one-way commute in the New Year. I've decided to give up on having a private bathroom - living in the heat with the sun beating down all day does horrors on a vehicle's exterior.

[chrisgermany]

Do you wear the same pair of work shoes every day? Buy a second pair and rotate daily. Let the idle pair dry out and clean them well.

[BicycleB]

I wear boots 14+ hrs/day; they sit in a 80°F/50% humidity room thereafter (known as my bedroom). The boots/socks don't stink in the morning, only when removed - perhaps confirming their poor ventilation design. Among your recommendations, the simplest solution would be to leave the boots in the garage at night to dry out, whereby removing one odor from my room (a benefit). I will employ this plan tonight - perhaps the faster drying will minimize the odor detected during takeoff tomorrow? Thank you for the suggestions.

Have you tried any bactericides or fungicides?

When I got a bit of athletes' foot type itch, which is something that has similar causes, I used an antifungal spray (moconazole nitrate 2%; brand name Lotrimin, I used a store brand). It was very effective.

https://www.unitypoint.org/livewell/article.aspx?id=331c62a0-1229-411b-9912-02bf8747510d#:~:text=So%2C%20if%20the%20bacteria%20on,Dr.

I wonder if sprinkling baking soda in your shoes and socks before work would help. It might not, but it's cheap per ounce compared to over the counter foot powders/sprays, so maybe worth trying?

[Solomon960]

chrisgermany: I do have a second pair of boots; however, I keep them for emergency-only as I need a pair for when the bigwigs visit (our dress code is very specific). Perhaps courtesy of the pandemic, I have yet to wear this second pair since their purchase last December.

BicycleB: A coincidence, but the last housemate to depart left his baking soda in a cabinet. I will sprinkle the powder into my boots this evening.


Surprisingly, I was dismissed after only six hours on the job Wednesday (thank you, Covid-19); despite my socks being drenched, I did not detect a significant odor after leaving the boots in the garage overnight. I will certainly keep this practice moving forward - perhaps my bedroom is simply too damp to dry properly?

[Solomon960]

July 2020 Grocery Shopping Totals:

Number of Store Visits: 13
Number of Transactions: 5
Total Spending: $14.47 (~$0.47/day - a personal best)
Note: Figure includes the optional purchase of a non-edible silicon turner and wooden ruler. If excluded, true monthly food total lowers to $13.25 or ~$0.43/day.

Finding food items worth buying has become a significant challenge over the last two months. Dollar Tree has not been stocking family size cereals, all local grocers have noticeably increased prices among most categories, and banana selections proved more yellow than normal in July. Because I stock up when I do find a deal, I have largely remained unaffected as I work down my surplus inventory of peanuts, peanut butter, mac & cheese, and whole wheat bread, xylitol gum (for after lunch), non-dairy milk, etc. Surprisingly, I have not consumed a box of cereal in two weeks and still have ~20 boxes in reserve.

[Kl285528]

I see you are buying non-dairy milk. I eat smoothies everyday, and the base ingredient is almond milk or coconut milk. I got the idea from someone on these forums to "create" my own almond and coconut milk for the smoothies - using almond flour and coconut flour. My preferred ratio is a little less than 1/4 cup of flour to 1 cup of water. Not sure what you are buying, but might be worth trying for certain uses.

[EliteZags]

I generally turn one dollar into four at year-end.

LMAO this guy is QUADRUPLING his money every year and still eating out of cans 6 days a wk, guess the rest of us are just doing it all wrong

[bloodaxe]

@Solomon960  have you read Early Retirement Extreme?

It's all about using systems theory to decouple things in your life. Or what you would call "Personal Efficiency".

[eyesonthehorizon]

I see you are buying non-dairy milk. I eat smoothies everyday, and the base ingredient is almond milk or coconut milk. I got the idea from someone on these forums to "create" my own almond and coconut milk for the smoothies - using almond flour and coconut flour. My preferred ratio is a little less than 1/4 cup of flour to 1 cup of water. Not sure what you are buying, but might be worth trying for certain uses.

Have you found a good use for the soaked flour after you've milked it? I wondered about using it in breads but it seems like it'd be sort of bland.

Seconding bloodaxe's suggestion that the OP read ERE.

[Kl285528]

Funny, I don't even separate it - in other words, I put it in the blender with water and other smoothie ingredients and drink it all down - so there is no residue - I have tried dried almond flour and coconut flour as substitutes for almond milk as a creamer - that doesn't work very well!

[Solomon960]

I see you are buying non-dairy milk. I eat smoothies everyday, and the base ingredient is almond milk or coconut milk. I got the idea from someone on these forums to "create" my own almond and coconut milk for the smoothies - using almond flour and coconut flour. My preferred ratio is a little less than 1/4 cup of flour to 1 cup of water. Not sure what you are buying, but might be worth trying for certain uses.

Thank you for sharing your novel idea, Kl285528! It's been five months since I last purchased non-dairy milk (just no discounts to be had in my metro area). Costco's generic almond milk was on sale very early in the year, so I purchased a case given the looooong shelf life. If not for that, I would be consuming tap water exclusively apart from when I sporadically procure coupons for dairy milk. I'm primarily using the almond milk in my mac & cheese (down to three boxes). Question: Have you attempted making your own almond milk from almond flour + water to be consumed straight-up? If palatable, that could be something I would try in order to have milk always on-hand.

[Solomon960]

EliteZags: While I do fairly well with investing, NONE of my profits are derived short-term. The key to success is patience, especially when an equity dilutes its shares with an unexpected offering or is penalized by stockholders because its product does not receive FDA approval...

bloodaxe and eyesonthehorizon: I registered an account on ERE but have not looked into the site in great detail. However, it remains on my agenda...I'm more focused on work initiatives that save taxpayers money at the moment.

[Dicey]

I see you are buying non-dairy milk. I eat smoothies everyday, and the base ingredient is almond milk or coconut milk. I got the idea from someone on these forums to "create" my own almond and coconut milk for the smoothies - using almond flour and coconut flour. My preferred ratio is a little less than 1/4 cup of flour to 1 cup of water. Not sure what you are buying, but might be worth trying for certain uses.

Thank you for sharing your novel idea, Kl285528! It's been five months since I last purchased non-dairy milk (just no discounts to be had in my metro area). Costco's generic almond milk was on sale very early in the year, so I purchased a case given the looooong shelf life. If not for that, I would be consuming tap water exclusively apart from when I sporadically procure coupons for dairy milk. I'm primarily using the almond milk in my mac & cheese (down to three boxes). Question: Have you attempted making your own almond milk from almond flour + water to be consumed straight-up? If palatable, that could be something I would try in order to have milk always on-hand.

Making your own is dead easy. Courtesy of Sir Google: https://detoxinista.com/how-to-make-homemade-almond-milk/

[Solomon960]

I see you are buying non-dairy milk. I eat smoothies everyday, and the base ingredient is almond milk or coconut milk. I got the idea from someone on these forums to "create" my own almond and coconut milk for the smoothies - using almond flour and coconut flour. My preferred ratio is a little less than 1/4 cup of flour to 1 cup of water. Not sure what you are buying, but might be worth trying for certain uses.

Thank you for sharing your novel idea, Kl285528! It's been five months since I last purchased non-dairy milk (just no discounts to be had in my metro area). Costco's generic almond milk was on sale very early in the year, so I purchased a case given the looooong shelf life. If not for that, I would be consuming tap water exclusively apart from when I sporadically procure coupons for dairy milk. I'm primarily using the almond milk in my mac & cheese (down to three boxes). Question: Have you attempted making your own almond milk from almond flour + water to be consumed straight-up? If palatable, that could be something I would try in order to have milk always on-hand.

Making your own is dead easy. Courtesy of Sir Google: https://detoxinista.com/how-to-make-homemade-almond-milk/

Thank you for the link, Dicey. A quick cost analysis reveals that following the 1 cup (8 oz) almonds to 4 cups water recipe, there actually is no cost benefit to making almond milk at home vs. purchasing half gallon containers from the store:

One half-gallon of store-bought almond milk: $1.98

One half gallon of homemade almond milk (doubling the recipe): $4.00 (16 oz of almonds @ $0.25/oz)
*Note: Additional costs of 64 oz of tap water, a strainer (or nut milk bag), and blender are not included

I do agree that the recipe itself is easy with advanced planning; owning a blender goes against my minimalist principles, however. I am surprised by the significant expense to making this homemade - I thought paying $0.03/oz was outlandish for store-brand almond milk, but over $0.06+/oz for homemade is beyond dinner entree territory ($0.05/oz for canned veggies). At $0.025/oz, even homemade peanut milk does not offer any economic benefit (https://thealmondeater.com/how-to-make-peanut-milk/); still, I wonder how bland the flavor would be without adding enhancers like fruit, vanilla, etc...the concept is so simple.

[Dicey]

I see you are buying non-dairy milk. I eat smoothies everyday, and the base ingredient is almond milk or coconut milk. I got the idea from someone on these forums to "create" my own almond and coconut milk for the smoothies - using almond flour and coconut flour. My preferred ratio is a little less than 1/4 cup of flour to 1 cup of water. Not sure what you are buying, but might be worth trying for certain uses.

Thank you for sharing your novel idea, Kl285528! It's been five months since I last purchased non-dairy milk (just no discounts to be had in my metro area). Costco's generic almond milk was on sale very early in the year, so I purchased a case given the looooong shelf life. If not for that, I would be consuming tap water exclusively apart from when I sporadically procure coupons for dairy milk. I'm primarily using the almond milk in my mac & cheese (down to three boxes). Question: Have you attempted making your own almond milk from almond flour + water to be consumed straight-up? If palatable, that could be something I would try in order to have milk always on-hand.

Making your own is dead easy. Courtesy of Sir Google: https://detoxinista.com/how-to-make-homemade-almond-milk/

Thank you for the link, Dicey. A quick cost analysis reveals that following the 1 cup (8 oz) almonds to 4 cups water recipe, there actually is no cost benefit to making almond milk at home vs. purchasing half gallon containers from the store:

One half-gallon of store-bought almond milk: $1.98

One half gallon of homemade almond milk (doubling the recipe): $4.00 (16 oz of almonds @ $0.25/oz)
*Note: Additional costs of 64 oz of tap water, a strainer (or nut milk bag), and blender are not included

I do agree that the recipe itself is easy with advanced planning; owning a blender goes against my minimalist principles, however. I am surprised by the significant expense to making this homemade - I thought paying $0.03/oz was outlandish for store-brand almond milk, but over $0.06+/oz for homemade is beyond dinner entree territory ($0.05/oz for canned veggies). At $0.025/oz, even homemade peanut milk does not offer any economic benefit (https://thealmondeater.com/how-to-make-peanut-milk/); still, I wonder how bland the flavor would be without adding enhancers like fruit, vanilla, etc...the concept is so simple.

I'm positive you can figure out a way to make it for less, plus there's the environmental benefit of reusing a single container many times...